- division
- late 14c., from O.Fr. division, from L. divisionem (nom. divisio), from divid-, stem of dividere (see divide). Military sense is first recorded 1597. Mathematical sense is from c.1425. The mathematical division sign supposedly was invented by British mathematician John Pell (1611-1685) who taught at Cambridge and Amsterdam. Divisive "producing discord" is from 1642.